Description:
According to Population Action International, based upon the UN medium population projections of 1998, more than 2.8 billion people in 48 countries will face water stress or water scarcity conditions by 2025. An area is experiencing water stress when annual water supplies drop below 1700 m3 per person. Water scarcity means that the annual water supply is below 1000 m3 per person. This graphic shows which African nations are expected to be experiencing water stress, and which are expected to be facing water scarcity, by the year 2025. It also includes a graphic which shows that as the world's population continues to grow, a higher proportion of the population will be affected by water stress and water scarcity.

Benefits from marine and coastal ecosystems and activitiesBesides the well-known economic value of fisheries, there are several other activities generating significant revenues in coastal and marine areas. This graphic discusses the economic benefits of coastal tourism, trade a...

By Delphine Digout, UNEP/GRID-Arendal

Water consumption - top countriesFreshwater use is partly based on several socio-economic development factors, including population, physiography, and climatic characteristics. This graphic illustrates the world's top 20 water consumers per capita, in c...

By Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID-Arendal

Water withdrawal and consumptionFreshwater use is partly based on several socio-economic development factors, including population, physiography, and climatic characteristics. This graphic illustrates freshwater use, in cubic kilometres per year, from ...

By Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID-Arendal

carbon_cycleAbout carbon_cycle

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Causes of sea level rise from climate changeA significant sea level rise is one of the major anticipated consequences of climate change. This graphic explains the causes of sea level change according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It expl...

By Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID-Arendal

Renewable freshwater supplies, per river basinFreshwater represents a crucial sort for human development, for nature and for ecosystem services. This graphic compares freshwater supplies in cubic metres per capita, per river basin in 1995 with a projection of freshw...

By Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID-Arendal

Regulation of the Tigris and Euphrates riversWater has long been associated with conflicts between neighbouring countries. This graphic shows how water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is used in Iraq, and that neighbouring Syria and Turkey influence the flow o...

By Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID-Arendal

Phosphate levels in major basinsA comparison of the major watersheds between the two decades showed that Northern Europe and North America had lower phosphate concentrations, while the Ganges and Brahmaputra watersheds in South Central Asia had higher ...